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World stocks rise after U.S. growth revised higher

World stock markets mostly rose Wednesday as stronger U.S. growth offset a less rosy outlook for China.

Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.2 percent to 6,747.12 and Germany's DAX was up 0.3 percent at 9,885.87. France's CAC 40 shed 0.2 percent to 4,374.47. Wall Street was set for a muted up: Dow and S&P futures were up slightly as of 7:43 a.m. ET.

The U.S. economy grew at a solid 3.9 percent annual rate in the July-September period, faster than the 3.5 percent that was initially reported, underlining its status as the only major economy that is gathering momentum. The upward revision was due to higher estimates of spending by consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said.

"Markets received more good news on the U.S. economy," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC in Sydney. "However, local investor focus is likely to be closer to home with mounting concern over China's economy," he said. Doubts about China's ability to sustain growth above 7 percent are evident in weakness in the Australian dollar and falling iron ore prices, Spooner said.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent to 24,111.98 and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 1.2 percent to 5,396.20. Japan's Nikkei 225 dropped 0.1 percent to 17,383.58 while China's Shanghai Composite rose 1.4 percent to 2,604.35. Seoul's Kospi was little changed at 1,980.84.

The short-lived boost that stock markets got from China's interest rate cuts on Friday suggests growing pessimism about growth prospects for the world's No. 2 economy. Growth slipped to a five year low of 7.3 percent in the third quarter and indicators such as manufacturing have weakened since then. Some forecasters predict growth of less than 7 percent in China next year.

Oil dropped further after sliding on reports that representatives from Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Russian state oil giant OAO Rosneft failed on Tuesday to agree on any immediate plans to cut output. The oil producing nations were meeting ahead of OPEC's Thursday meeting. Benchmark crude was down 26 cents at $73.83 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It dropped $1.69 to close at $74.09 in Nymex's Tuesday trading session.

The dollar rose to 117.87 yen from 117.85 yen late Tuesday. The euro dropped to $1.2459 from $1.2477 late Tuesday. The Australian dollar slipped to $0.8534 from $0.8545.

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